Scottish Executive

Asylum Seekers

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which further education colleges in Glasgow are funding and running English lessons for asylum seekers.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Five further education colleges in Glasgow are funding provision for asylum seekers on English courses in the current academic year, either on dedicated courses or as in-fill students within mainstream English language courses. The five are: Anniesland College, Cardonald College, Central College of Commerce, Glasgow College of Food Technology and Langside College.

Council Tax

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why local authorities in Scotland collected an average of 88.3% of council tax in 1999-2000 compared with an average in England of 96.1%, as set out in the Audit Scotland Performance Indicators Report, Comparing the Performance of Scottish Councils , and what action it proposes to take to improve collection rates.

Peter Peacock: Research commissioned for the joint Scottish Executive and COSLA It Pays to Pay report on council tax collection identified a range of factors which influence the collection rates in Scotland compared with England, including legislative differences. For 2001-02 we have introduced legislative changes to give councils in Scotland the same powers as those available to councils in England to bill earlier and to issue joint reminder and final notices. We are working with local government and other relevant organisations, through the It Pays to Pay Implementation Group, to assist and encourage councils to improve their council tax collection levels and efficiency.

Credit Unions

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to support the development of the credit union movement in Scotland.

Jackie Baillie: I have published today an Action Plan for the development of the credit union movement in Scotland, Unlocking the Potential: An Action Plan for the credit union movement in Scotland . Copies are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

  To support the implementation of the Action Plan I am making available £1.5 million over the next three years and additional support for volunteering initiatives and IT systems. A Scottish Credit Union Partnership will be established to oversee the implementation of the Action Plan and monitor progress.

Criminal Records

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12402 by Mr Jim Wallace on 25 January 2001, when the drafting of any regulations under section 115(4) of the Police Act 1997 will begin and what consideration or consultation is under way with regard to the provision of free enhanced criminal record certificates for those working with vulnerable adults which could inform any such regulations.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made towards a definition of "positions working regularly with vulnerable adults" in relation to extending the categories entitled to free criminal record checks for the purposes of Part V of the Police Act 1997.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which agencies have been or are being consulted with regard to establishing a definition of "positions working regularly with vulnerable adults" in relation to extending the categories entitled to free criminal record checks for the purposes of Part V of the Police Act 1997.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will meet the costs of criminal records checks for people "working regularly with vulnerable adults in the voluntary sector" once a definition has been agreed.

Mr Jim Wallace: A draft definition of "vulnerable adult" will shortly be the subject of consultation with relevant organisations in the statutory, voluntary and private sectors. In the meantime, we have decided that Part V criminal record checks on volunteers working with vulnerable adults in the voluntary sector may be carried out without cost to the volunteer or to the voluntary organisation concerned. This will put volunteers working with vulnerable adults on a par with those working with children.

Education

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will include, in the guidance given to schools about their curriculum, guidance in support of lessons about personal financial planning and debt avoidance.

Mr Jack McConnell: The Scottish Executive in partnership with Learning and Teaching Scotland, the Financial Services Authority and The Royal Bank of Scotland has already provided education authorities and schools with advice and teaching materials on a range of issues relating to personal finance, including financial planning and debt avoidance.

  This existing guidance will be supplemented by the launch later this month of a CD-ROM, Facing up to Finance, for use in S3/S4 classes.

Enterprise

Dr Winnie Ewing (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any representations to supermarkets in respect of the impact which their policies and practices regarding timeous payment of invoices from suppliers have upon the Scottish economy.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive meets with supermarket representatives regularly to discuss a wide range of issues. The Scottish Executive also supports the Better Payment Practice Group’s code of practice on payment of commercial debt and would encourage all firms to comply with its principles.

Enterprise

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many social firms or emerging social firms exist in (a) Scotland, (b) Glasgow and (c) Glasgow Kelvin.

Ms Wendy Alexander: In Scotland it is estimated that there are 10 social firms and 15 emerging social firms.

  There are three emerging social firms in Glasgow, one of which is located in Glasgow Kelvin.

Enterprise

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it is giving for setting up social firms.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Support for setting up social firms is available through the European Social Fund, administered in Scotland by the Scottish Executive.

  Scottish Enterprise (SEn) has a key role in supporting the social economy by providing quality information and business development support.

  SEn are currently part-funding a Social Firms Scotland pilot which will assist new and developing projects throughout Scotland.

Enterprise

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what partnership work Scottish Enterprise Glasgow is undertaking to support emerging and existing social firms.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Our strategy document A Smart Successful Scotland sets out that Scottish Enterprise has a key role in supporting the social economy by providing quality information and business development support.

  Scottish Enterprise Glasgow co-funded Social Firms UK’s annual conference in Glasgow in November 2000.

  It also co-ordinated meetings on behalf of Social Firms Scotland with the Joint Employment Unit/Greater Glasgow Health Board and voluntary sector representatives to develop a proposal to support social firms’ work of job creation. This proposal was approved under the new European Community Initiative, EQUAL, and funding is being provided by Scottish Enterprise.

General Practitioners

Ben Wallace (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many general practitioners retired in (a) 1997-98, (b) 1998-99 and (c) 1999-2000.

Susan Deacon: Robust information on the number of general practitioners who retire is not available. Information is collected on the number of GPs who cease to practise as principals in Scotland. However, a significant percentage do not supply a reason for leaving, and the number of those who have retired cannot be estimated with any accuracy.

General Practitioners

Ben Wallace (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many general practitioners were employed in each year since 1996.

Susan Deacon: The number of general practitioners employed in each year since 1996 for which there is firm data is shown in the following table. The table should be read in conjunction with the notes below.

  General medical practitioners contracted to NHSScotland

  Headcount at 1 October

  


Year 
  

Number2




1996 
  

3,877 
  



1997 
  

3,942 
  



1998 
  

4,026 
  



1999 
  

4,073 
  



  Notes:

  1. Source: ISD Scotland, General Medical Practitioner Database; Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education.

  2. Number comprises principals, assistants, GP registrars, associates and salaried doctors.

Health

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many adults diagnosed with developmental dyspraxia are currently (a) awaiting treatment and (b) undergoing treatment in each health board area.

Susan Deacon: This information is not held centrally.

Health

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what facilities exist in each health board area for the diagnosis of developmental dyspraxia and how many adults have been assessed as suffering from developmental dyspraxia in each health board area in each of the last five years.

Susan Deacon: This information is not held centrally.

Health

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to extend the life expectancy of males in the Greater Glasgow Health Board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive is dedicated to improving the health of all Scots and, in particular, to tackling health inequalities. Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change , published on 14 December 2000, sets out fully the policy framework which provides the focus for our work to tackle the root causes of ill health. Implementation of these policies at local level will lead to improvements in health with consequent improvements in life expectancy rates for both men and women.

  Greater Glasgow Health Board (GGHB) is involved with partner organisations in a wide variety of initiatives aimed at improving the health of all of its population. Information about the specific actions being taken by the board can be obtained from their Health Promotion Department.

  The Executive has recognised the high levels of morbidity and deprivation in the Greater Glasgow Health Board area in implementing the recommendation of Fair Shares for All. This means that GGHB will receive in 2001-02 an increase of 7.7% in its allocation for hospital and community health services, compared with an average increase of 6.5%.

Heritage

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to support heritage initiatives in Kilmarnock and Loudoun.

Allan Wilson: I have asked Graeme Munro, Director and Chief Executive of Historic Scotland, to answer. His response is as follows:

  Historic Scotland, an agency within the Scottish Executive, is supporting a number of projects which conserve the built heritage in Kilmarnock and Loudoun. It is providing repair grants for work being undertaken as part of a Townscape Heritage Initiative in Newmilns partly funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, as well as providing substantial grants towards the repair of Riccarton Parish Church in Kilmarnock and St Sophia’s Parish Church in Galston. The agency is also responsible for looking after Rowallan Old Castle which is in the Guardianship of Scottish ministers.

Homelessness

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will facilitate schemes for owners to voluntarily lease vacant domestic properties to local authorities in order to assist in ending homelessness.

Jackie Baillie: Owners of vacant domestic properties who wish to lease their property to assist in ending homelessness can approach local authorities who currently have the power under section 2(1)(c) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 to acquire such housing by leasing.

Homelessness

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will amend the Housing (Scotland) Bill to allow local authorities more powers to rent or lease vacant domestic property to assist in ending homelessness.

Jackie Baillie: Local authorities currently have the power under section 2(1)(c) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 to acquire housing by leasing. This could include renting or leasing vacant domestic property to assist in ending homelessness.

Justice

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it or the Scottish Office issued guidance relating to the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to parallel the guidance issued in England by the Home Office.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Office issued guidance on the Scottish provisions on racially aggravated offences in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 in September 1998, prior to the Act coming into force. Further guidance on the main Scottish provisions in the Act was issued in October 1998.

Justice

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to legislate to treat incitement to sectarian violence as a crime in the same way as incitement to racial violence is dealt with in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

Mr Jim Wallace: No. Existing criminal law is sufficiently robust and flexible to respond to crimes of violence and incitement to violence. In addition, guidance has been issued that any evidence of religious motivation or hostility should be brought to the attention of the Procurator Fiscal and the court. The court can consider this as an aggravating factor in sentencing.

Justice

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many contraventions of Article 9 of the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) (Scotland) Order 1992 have resulted in criminal proceedings in each year from 1995 to present, in total and broken down by Sheriffdom.

Mr Jim Wallace: Figures on the number of prosecutions for the relevant offence under section 23 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1972 cannot, from the information held centrally, be separately identified from those for other offences under Town and Country Planning Acts in the Scottish Executive Justice Department classification of crimes and offences.

Ministerial Committees

Dr Winnie Ewing (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive who the members are of the Joint Ministerial Committees on pensioner poverty and child poverty; on what dates the committees have met, and on what dates they are next scheduled to meet.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Joint Ministerial Committee on Poverty has met twice, on 9 December 1999 and 26 May 2000. Membership includes ministers from each of the devolved administrations as well as the UK Government. No further meetings are scheduled at present.

Public/Private Partnerships

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the £150,000 announced by the Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs on 20 February 2001 for school Public/Private Partnerships in Glasgow will be spent on Hillhead High School.

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the £150,000 announced by the Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs on 20 February 2001 for school Public/Private Partnerships in Glasgow will be spent on Hyndland Secondary School.

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the £150,000 announced by the Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs on 20 February 2001 for school Public/Private Partnerships in Glasgow will be spent on Notre Dame High School.

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the £150,000 announced by the Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs on 20 February 2001 for school Public/Private Partnerships in Glasgow will be spent on St Thomas Aquinas High School.

Mr Jack McConnell: All of the secondary schools managed by Glasgow City Council are being replaced, extended and/or refurbished, according to the needs of each school, under an existing Public/Private Partnership (PPP) into which the council has already entered, with some financial support guaranteed by the Scottish Executive under an arrangement announced in November 1998.

  The allocation of £150,000 to Glasgow City Council which I announced on 20 February 2001 is for a different purpose. It is to enable the council, and 20 other authorities who were allocated a share of a total of £5 million, to take forward work on feasibility studies into possible further school PPP projects.

Schools

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much capital funding it will be giving to East Dunbartonshire Council to accelerate the implementation of "Ed’s Diners" in its schools.

Mr Jack McConnell: The annual allocation to local authorities of consent to incur capital expenditure is a general consent for expenditure on their non-housing capital programmes, including education. The consent is distributed amongst authorities on the basis of a formula agreed with COSLA, and is neither programme nor project specific. Within that framework, it is for East Dunbartonshire to decide on the level of capital expenditure on facilities for the provision of school meals.

Scots Language

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to address any difficulties in the teaching of the Scots language caused by scarcity of qualified teachers and materials and small number of pupils and whether it will introduce a pilot project on Scots language teaching similar to the approach to Latin teaching currently being tested in North Lanarkshire.

Mr Jack McConnell: The Scots language is not taught as a course, as the subject of Latin is, but is an element of more general language work aimed at giving children experience of and teaching them about Scots language and literature.

Scottish Executive Contracts

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what contracts it has with Eglinton Management Centre at present.

Angus MacKay: The Scottish Executive has two contracts with Eglinton Management Centre at present. The first is to undertake a development needs analysis of the senior executives in NHSScotland. The other is for a management and organisational review of the support structures to pre-school nursery education.

Scottish Executive Finance

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the value is of all capital assets used by its core and associated departments and its agencies which will be included in the assessment of capital charges under the new resource account budgeting system, broken down to as low a level as the information is available.

Angus MacKay: The value of fixed assets as at 31 March 2000 which would be included in the assessment of capital charges as reported in the resource accounts is as follows:

  


Department/Agency 
  

Net Book Value as at 31 March 2000 (£000) 
  



Tangible 
  

Intangible 
  

Investments 
  

Total 
  



Core Scottish Executive 
  

8,550,634 
  

11,117 
  

4,480,957 
  

13,042,708 
  



National Archives of Scotland 
  

7,577 
  

33 
  




7,610 
  



General Register Office for Scotland 
  

4,810 
  

82 
  




4,892 
  



Fisheries Research Services 
  

26,358 
  







26,358 
  



Scottish Prison Service 
  

398,994 
  







398,994 
  



Historic Scotland 
  

11,061 
  







11,061 
  



Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency 
  

10,795 
  
 
 

10,795 
  



Scottish Public Pensions Agency 
  

1,082 
  
 
 

1,082 
  



Scottish Agricultural Science Agency 
  

9,813 
  







9,813 
  



Student Awards Agency Scotland 
  

2,262 
  







2,262 
  



Scottish Court Service 
  

298,609 
  







298,609 
  



  The 1999-2000 annual accounts of the agencies have been laid before Parliament and published. The resource accounts for the core department and associated departments will be published shortly. All these accounts will provide some additional information.

Scottish Executive Finance

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the capital assets of its core and associated departments and its agencies which appear in the National Asset Register.

Angus MacKay: The first National Asset Register was published in November 1997 to inform on the assets owned by central Government departments, associated departments and their executive agencies. A second National Asset Register has been prepared and is due to be published this month. It will include a listing of all the properties and other assets owned by the core Scottish Executive and associated departments and its agencies as at 31 March 2000.

Scottish Executive Finance

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was to its core and associated departments and its agencies of making employers’ contributions to staff pensions in each year for which figures are available and how much it estimates will be spent in any future years for which projections are available.

Angus MacKay: The following table provides details of the Scottish Executive Accruing Superannuation Liability Charges to the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme for its core, associated departments and agencies for 1999-2000 and 2000-01 and the estimated figures for 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04.

  


ASLC Costs for Financial Years 1999-2000 – 2003-04 (£) 
  






1999-2000 
  

2000-01* 
  

2001-02 
  

2002-03 
  

2003-04 
  



SE Core 
  

12,958,752 
  

14,197,437 
  

14,943,300 
  

15,764,900 
  

16,875,100 
  



Other Agencies and Associated Departments 
  

4,599,644 
  

4,888,315 
  

5,158,286 
  

5,398,473 
  

5,696,227 
  



Scottish Courts Service 
  

1,700,000 
  

1,840,000 
  

1,900,000 
  

1,950,000 
  

2,020,000 
  



Registers of Scotland 
  

2,548,008 
  

2,550,179 
  

2,852,911 
  

2,964,742 
  

3,077,402 
  



Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service** 
  

3,188,365 
  

3,301,859 
  

3,672,056 
  

3,782,218 
  

3,895,684 
  



Scottish Prison Service 
  

14,709,000 
  

14,268,000 
  

14,494,000 
  

14,932,000 
  

15,383,000 
  



  * The total has been projected to include an estimate for March 2001.

  ** 2000-01 total includes an estimate for January–March 2001.

Scottish Executive Finance

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what payments its core and associated departments and its agencies made for the rental or lease of properties in each year for which figures are available.

Angus MacKay: In 1999-2000 the Scottish Executive paid £11,274,000 and in 2000-01 the Executive will pay £11,619,000 (estimated) in rental and lease payments. These figures are inclusive of VAT where payable.

Scottish Executive Finance

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the amount of value added tax paid from the Scottish budget was in each year for which figures are available, in total and broken into the amount paid by each of its core and associated departments and each of its agencies.

Angus MacKay: VAT was paid (net of recoveries) in the financial year 1999-2000 by the following:

  

 

Amount (£000) 
  



The Scottish Office/Scottish Executive (including agencies 
  not shown separately below) 
  

12,633 
  



Scottish Prison Service 
  

5,729 
  



Scottish Courts Administration 
  

1,962 
  



Registers of Scotland 
  

625 
  



Historic Scotland 
  

364 
  



National Archives of Scotland 
  

256 
  



General Register Office for Scotland 
  

167 
  



  Information for the Crown Office is not available.

Scottish Executive Finance

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the contingent liabilities entered into by its core and associated departments and its agencies, specifying the amount involved in each.

Angus MacKay: The annual accounts of the core Scottish Executive, its associated departments and its agencies, provide details on quantifiable contingent liabilities. At 31 March 2000, these are:

  





Description 
  

Amount
(£000) 
  



Scottish Executive 
  

Indemnity cover to owners of objects lent under the National 
  Heritage Act 1980 and the National Heritage (Scotland) Act 
  1985 
  


 
824,300 
  



Scottish Executive 
  

Housing Act guarantees 
  

5,700 
  



Scottish Executive 
  

NHS overdraft guarantees 
  

4,800 
  



Scottish Executive 
  

Local Government Act – overdraft guarantees for Water Authorities 
  


25,000 
  



Scottish Executive 
  

Indemnity on St Andrew’s bus station title 
  

1,500 
  



Scottish Executive 
  

Road Claims in respect of the M77 and M80 
  

269 
  



National Archives of Scotland 
  

Indemnity cover on various collections held on deposit 
  by the National Archives of Scotland 
  


1,490 
  



Scottish Prison Service 
  

Compensation Claims in respect of staff, prisoners and 
  third parties 
  


564 
  



Scottish Courts Service 
  

Employers liability claim 
  


15 
  



Scottish Courts Service 
  

Public liability claim 
  


130 
  



Scottish Courts Service 
  

Lockerbie Trial Relocation costs at Camp Zeist 
  


2,000 
  



Scottish Courts Service 
  

Lockerbie Trial Dilapidation costs at Camp Zeist 
  


2,000

Teachers

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what increases in the pensions of teachers and their dependants will be applied in the coming year, taking into account the impact of the McCrone settlement.

Mr Jack McConnell: The pensions of retired teachers and their dependants are increased under the powers in the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971 and the Social Security Act 1975. Pensions in payment for a year or more will increase by 3.3% from 9 April 2001. Any pension in payment for less than a year will increase by a proportionate amount, depending on the number of months it has been in payment.

Telecommunications

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive,  further to the answer to question S1W-12728 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 6 February 2001, on what date the study into the potential impact of local loop unbundling across Scotland will be available and whether there will be a charge to businesses for copies of the results.

Ms Wendy Alexander: A draft report is scheduled for delivery by early summer. This will then need to be evaluated by Scottish Enterprise, Highlands & Islands Enterprise and the Executive. A summary report will be made available on the Scottish Enterprise website.